It is obvious that notable corporate giants deem
it a must to promote corporate images that reflect
their environmental awareness and involvement.

Today's world is now facing enormous environmental problems and challenges. Environmental problems caused more than 2,000 people to
perish in Europe in 2003 due to a heat wave, while
storms and floods sporadically killed people in
many parts of the world the following year. The
2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed more
than 186,000 people in South and Southeast Asia,
making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern
history. The 2005 hurricane Katrina killed more
than 1,800 in the southern United States. The $200
billion in damages made Katrina the most destructive and costly natural disaster in the history of
the country. The devastating aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita should force President Bush
to face up to the threat of climate change and international cooperation on the issue.

Natural disasters are only one type of environmental issue that proves that, at the beginning of
the new millennium, we should further emphasize the importance of environmental marketing.
Consumers, for example, are now more concerned
about environmental problems than ever. According to a recent survey, North American consumers believe that companies should take greater
steps to deal with environmental issues—35% in
1996, up from 29% in 1993 (Lawrence, 1998).
Roper's national opinion poll on attitudes toward the environment shows that the majority of
Americans regard a number of issues as “very serious” (Roper Starch Worldwide, 1996), including industrial water and air pollution, destruction
of ozone and rain forests, industrial accidents, oil
spills, and hazardous waste. Further, many people
are convinced that businesses should play a major role in confronting these issues, as evidenced
by a national Cone/Roper survey on cause-related
marketing (Cone Communications, 1994), which
found that the quality of the environment ranked
second only to crime among issues businesses need
to improve upon.

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